MPSC irregularities: Five-member panel to probe current and former commission members

NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar addresses the protesting MPSC aspirants in Pune (File pic)

A five-member committee formed by the Maharashtra government to inquire into alleged paper leaks and irregularities in MPSC exams will also probe the tenure of present as well as past chairpersons and members of the state recruitment body, as per officials.

As per PTI, the Maharashtra government on Sunday named senior IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe, the FDA commissioner acclaimed for strictly enforcing food safety regulations, as secretary of the panel.

The committee formed by the government will probe the tenure of present as well as past chairpersons and members of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said while proposing the panel last week.

Other than Mundhe, the committee will have ex-judge Dilip Bhosale as its chairman, IPS officer Laxmi Gautam, ex-IAS officer Ganesh Patil, and retired judge P D Naik as members.

Maharashtra Minister Bhosale assures the students of fair inquiry

State minister Shivendraraje Bhosale conveyed the decision on the composition of the probe panel on Sunday, after meeting MPSC aspirants at SM Joshi Bridge in Pune, where they had been agitating for 10 days in support of their demands, including reforms in the commission. The agitating aspirants later ended their protest, as per PTI.

Subsequently, MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar announced he had proceeded on leave till the inquiry was completed.

Maharashtra Minister Bhosale told the protesters that their other demands would be addressed too.

These included withdrawing cases against some representatives of the agitation, recruiting for 70,000 posts over three years, increasing the number of seats in the Group C examination scheduled for January, and conducting background checks on the MPSC chairman and secretary before their appointment.

Rohit Pawar welcomes Tukaram Mundhe's inclusion in the inquiry committee

NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, who had been protesting alongside the MPSC aspirants, welcomed Mundhe's inclusion in the committee.

Pawar said the inquiry committee was needed for 'purification' of the MPSC

NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar said, "The scope of the committee will be to probe the alleged irregularities in the conduct of exams and also probe the tenure of current and past chairpersons and other members of MPSC. We are sure that with Mundhe in the committee, the probe will be transparent," as per PTI.

He also added, "We hope that the committee will have the freedom to work properly."

CM Fadnavis expressed concern

Last week, Chief Minister Fadnavis expressed his government's readiness to form an inquiry committee to probe paper leaks and alleged irregularities in MPSC exams.

He said MPSC aspirants' demand was to remove the present chairman Bhimanwar for the paper leaks that had taken place when he was not the recruitment body's chief.

Fadnavis said, "They demanded that the state government should send a recommendation to the President of India for the ouster of the present chairman. The state government proposed a judicial inquiry committee which would probe current as well as the past chairpersons and officials (members) of the MPSC," as per PTI.

If the committee finds any misconduct on the part of the chairperson, its recommendation would be sent to the President as per Article 317 for appropriate action.

Article 317 of the Constitution deals with the removal and suspension of the chairman and members of a Public Service Commission (such as UPSC or SPSCs).

(With inputs from PTI)